Town Council Refers Possible Charter Amendments to GOL and State Legislature

Report on the Meeting of the Town Council, March 23, 2026, Part 2

Read Part 1 of the March 23, 2026 Town Council meeting report here.

By Anita Sarro

This meeting was held in a hybrid format in the Town Room at Town Hall. It was recorded.

Present
Mandi Jo Hanneke (President, at large), Jill Brevik and Cathy Schoen (District 1), Amber Cano-Martin and Lynn Griesemer (District 2), Hala Lord and George Ryan (District 3), Pam Rooney and Jennifer Taub (District 4), Ana Devlin Gauthier and Sam MacLeod (District 5), and Andy Churchill and Ellisha Walker (at large).

Staff: Paul Bockelman (Town Manager) and Athena O’Keeffe (Council Clerk)

Town Council resumed their discussion of the 22 recommendations submitted by the Charter Review Committee (see also here) on January 5, 2026. Council President Mandi Jo Hanneke introduced a motion that she said was based on the recommendations, as well as on the Town Council’s previous discussions and straw polls. 

The motion assigned each of the recommendations to one of three categories. Several recommendations had significant support among councilors during prior discussions and therefore, would go to the State Legislature for final action after legal review by the town attorneys. Others required more in-depth consideration before being presented to voters and were to be referred to either the Governance, Organization, and Legislation Committee (GOL) or the Finance Committee. A third alternative – to take no action – applied only to the recommendation that would require the Finance Committee to have one or more resident, nonvoting members, rather than the current provision that permits the committee to have a resident member but does not require it. Councilors were invited to offer amendments to the motion. At the request of Ana Devlin Gauthier who noted the heavy agenda facing the GOL,  the deadline for that committee’s report back to council was changed to August 30. The deadline for the Finance Committee remained July 30.

Nonvoting Resident Committee Members
George Ryan expressed deep concern about the recommendation (#9 affecting section 2.6(e) of the charter) that would allow resident nonvoting members on all Town Council committees. He proposed amending the motion to refer it to GOL instead of sending it for final legislative action. Jennifer Taub agreed, but Cathy Schoen pointed out that the recommendation does not require resident members, but would only permit them. She argued that the Finance Committee benefits from its resident members, who bring expertise and experience. Lynn Griesemer pointed out that part of the discussion would be whether the recommendation should be incorporated into the Charter or instead into the Rules of Procedure, the latter providing more flexibility. In addition she noted that if it is a Charter provision, Town Council appoints the resident member, but if it were in the Rules, the President has the sole authority to appoint. The vote to amend the motion to refer #9 to GOL passed with 12 in favor and only Mandi Jo Hanneke voting to submit it to the state legislature for action.

Term limits for Town Council Officers
The motion proposed limiting officers to three consecutive one-year terms and referred the topic to GOL (#4 affecting section 2.2(a) of the charter). Amber Cano-Martin moved to amend to send it instead to the state legislature for action. She reminded councilors that when it was discussed at a prior meeting, the majority were in support of the limitation. Cathy Schoen expressed her opposition to term limits, as did Sam MacLeod. Pam Rooney suggested addressing term limits in the Rules of Procedure to have flexibility, but Jill Brevik preferred the stability and consistency that the Charter provided. Hala Lord reminded councilors that the recommendation imposes a limit on consecutive terms, and therefore would permit an officer to serve subsequent consecutive 3-year terms, each following a one-year break. She preferred term limits to avoid “authority bias” and Cano-Martin agreed. George Ryan opposed term limits. Ana Devlin Gauthier felt the topic needed further discussion.The motion to amend failed, with the majority voting to keep it as originally proposed, referring to GOL Griesemer, Devlin Gauthier, Hanneke, MacLeod, Romney, Ryan, Schoen, Taub voteed to send the recommendation to GOL while Lord, Walker, Brevik, Cano-Martin, and Churchill voted to send it to the state legislature

Public Comment Periods
Section 2.6(d)(ii) of the charter requires the Town Council to have a public comment period at every regular meeting. The recommendation (#7) would extend the requirement to all regular meetings of Town Council committees. It also would permit the Council President or committee Chair to designate additional comment periods on specific agenda items. The motion proposes sending this recommendation to the state legislature for final action but Hanneke moved to amend it to table the recommendation, that is, take no action on it. She objected to the recommendation because in her view, it was procedural in nature and therefore was already reflected in the Rules. She was especially concerned with the second component concerning additional comment periods. She noted that having additional public comment periods is part of agenda-setting, the purview of the President or Chair.  Andy Churchill suggested removing that second component. Pam Rooney supported removing that requirement and referring the remaining language to the state legislature for action. The vote modifying the recommendation on that basis passed unanimously.

Quantum of Vote Required
Andy Churchill referenced recommendation #6 affecting sections 2.6(c) and 2.10(a) that would require an affirmative vote of a majority of the full Town Council for final passage of any bylaw or financial measure. He said that when it was proposed by the Charter Review Committee, of which he was a member, they were assuming this requirement would apply to significant financial issues, not every one, no matter how small. This matter is being referred to GOL and he will convey his comment to them.

Public Dialogue
Andy Churchill also spoke to recommendation #21, which would add a new section 8.1 to the charter, incorporating an existing Rule of Procedure that allows the Town Council, School Committee, and Library Trustees to hold informal, interactive public meetings. In prior discussions, some councilors felt that the concept of public dialogue already existed in section 8.1, Open Meeting of Residents. GOL will be asked to consider how the existing and proposed sections can be reconciled and combined.

Hanneke asked councilors to send any comments they have on recommendations being referred to GOL.

Council Fulfills Its Obligation to Act on the Charter
In the final vote, the councilors unanimously approved the original motion Hanneke presented, as amended at this meeting. She observed that by taking this action, Town Council had fulfilled its obligation under section 9.6 of the Charter to “act” on the Charter Review Committee’s recommendations within 90 days of their receipt.